Identikit: Kurt Wallander, a police inspector and detective in Ystad, Sweden, balances his harrowing caseload with his troubled private life, including tempestuous relationships with his father and daughter.

DESPITE THE excellence of the Swedish version of Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander novels, Kenneth Branagh was eager to try an English-language take on it, and he teamed up with Yellow Bird, Henning Mankell’s own production company for this third version of the character. Trevor Eve, David Morrissey and Clive Owen were all mentioned in connection with the role, but Branagh was a fan of the novels and got the author’s approval. There were cynical media comments before its debut on BBC1 about Brit actors speaking English in the Swedish setting, which entailed mangling place or character names, and of course anglicising Vallander to Wallander with a soft W (producer Simon Moseley thought this wise to avoid the show straying into ‘Ello! ‘Ello! territory). However, once past these incongruities, the series consisted of beautifully produced dramas, filmed on location, and looking terrific, while also offering richly textured stories. Certainly, one of the most visually arresting stories was 2012’s An Event in Autumn, directed by Toby Haynes, who capitalised beautifully on the wintry tone of the short story on which it is based. The director was flattered when Henning Mankell commented [to Barry Forshaw] that his late father-in-law, none other than Ingmar Bergman, might have been impressed. Branagh had a good cast around him too, with Sarah Smart and Tom Hiddleston as his junior colleagues, Saskia Reeves as the woman trying to build a love life with Wallander, and David Warner as his deteriorating father, Povel. The series never came close to achieving an aim stated at the time of the series’ launch of becoming British TV’s new Inspector Morse, but the first stories – Sidetracked, One Step Behind and Firewall – were definitely a cut above most detective shows (personally, I preferred it to Morse, anyway). Branagh was outstanding as the lonely, haunted detective, though the hero’s levels of angst and gloom were becoming monotonous by the time of 2012’s instalments. Hopefully, the character will move on a little for the final fourth series (consisting of The White Lioness and a two-part The Trouble Man), before retiring to rest on its seven (so far) Baftas.

Classic episode: Sidetracked, the very first BBC adaptation mixed a harrowing case (Wallander witnesses a girl setting light to herself) while introducing viewers to the personal angst of the detective (for instance, discovering that his father has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s).

Watercooler fact: Kenneth Branagh is the third actor to play Wallander as well as the third non-Swedish actor to portray famous literary detectives from the country. Walter Matthau played an Americanised version of Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall’s Martin Beck called Jake Martin in The Laughing Policeman, and Derek Jacobi was Martin Beck in Der Mann, der sich in Luft auflöste. Branagh also opted not watch his Swedish predecessors to avoid being swayed by their portrayals.

Welcome to CrimeTimePreview‘s series of interviews with authors about their TV and reading habits.

• PETER ROBINSON is the author of the Inspector Banks novels – the fourth series of which has just started on ITV (see the post below). A multi-award-winning novelist, he was born in Yorkshire and now divides his time between Toronto and Richmond, North Yorkshire. We brought him in for questioning, and here he makes a full and frank confession of his criminal viewing and reading habits…

• ADRIAN McKINTY is one of the most acclaimed new crime writers from across the Irish Sea, routinely mentioned alongside Ken Bruen, Declan Hughes and John Connolly. His series of edgy thrillers about Catholic detective Sean Duffy and the character’s exploits while working in the none-too-comfortable surroundings of the RUC during the Troubles, and later MI5, are developing a big following and have been hugely praised by reviewers. These include The Cold Cold Ground, In the Morning I’ll Be Gone and Gun Street Girl. Here, he reveals his favourite TV shows, characters and authors…

• WE’VE dragged one of Britain’s major crime practitioners in for questioning. Multi-award-winning IAN RANKIN is the creator of Edinburgh detective inspector John Rebus, the tenacious but chippy hero of bestsellers such as Black and Blue, Fleshmarket Close and Resurrection Men. The character was turned into a series by STV with first John Hannah and then Ken Stott portraying him. ITV filmed Rankin’s standalone novel Doors Open in 2012. After retiring Rebus in Exit Music, he introduced his readers to Malcolm Fox in The Complaints, before bringing Rebus back in 2012’s Standing in Another Man’s Grave.

• Manchester-based crime writer CATH STAINCLIFFE is interrogated below for evidence of her TV viewing and reading activities. She writes the novels based on the Scott & Bailey series, which stars Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones and is soon to return to ITV – with her latest book about the female detectives being Bleed Like Me. Cath is also the author of the Sal Kilkenny private eye stories and creator and scriptwriter of Blue Murder, which was on ITV and starred Caroline Quentin.

• Hauled in for questioning is British crime writer and Guardian reviewer LAURA WILSON, who is currently working on her 10th novel. Laura, whose books include the DI Stratton series among other mysteries set in the recent past, talks about her TV and reading habits, from Cagney & Lacey to Agatha Christie…

• ZOE SHARP wrote her first novel when she was 15. It was not until 2001, however, after she had tried her hand at jobs ranging from van driver to newspaper ad sales to motoring correspondent, that she finally publisher her breakout Charlie Fox novel Killer Instinct. Fox, the self-defence instructor with a shady military background, has proved hugely popular with readers through nine novels and has been optioned by Twentieth Century Fox TV. We brought Zoë in for questioning to see who she would like to see playing Charlie on screen, and what TV shows tick the right boxes for her…

• CrimeTimePreview apprehended SIMON KERNICK, one of Britain’s most exciting thriller writers to grill him about his viewing proclivities. He arrived on the crime scene with his acclaimed novel The Business of Dying, a terrific story about a corrupt cop who moonlights as a hitman. His authentic thrillers are basedon research with members of Special Branch, the Anti-Terrorist Branch and the Organised Crime Agency. He has just finished writing his latest book, which will be called Siege.

• SOPHIE HANNAH, whose novel The Point of Rescue was recently turned into the drama Case Sensitive by ITV1, is the author of internationally bestselling psychological thrillers – Little Face, Hurting Distance, The Other Half Lives and A Room Swept White. CrimeTimePreview recently brought her in to be questioned about her addiction to Class A plotting on television…

• Scottish author TONY BLACK, creator of Gus Dury in stories such as Gutted and Long Time Dead.

• Belfast crime writer SAM MILLAR, author of books such as The Redemption and the award-winning memoir On the Brinks.

• Crime novelist PAULINE ROWSON, author of the Marine series of mysteries, is pulled into CrimeTimePreview headquarters for questioning.

• Award-winning British novelist ANN CLEEVES is a serial crime writer, with her collections including amateur sleuths George & Molly, Inspector Ramsay, the soon-to-be-televised Vera Stanhope and the recent Shetland Island Quartet (now a BBC1 series with Douglas Henshall). CrimeTimePreview pulls her in for questioning about her TV habits…

• We brought thriller writer MATT HILTON into headquarters for questioning about his TV and reading activities.

• ALINE TEMPLETON is the author of the series of novels about DI Marjory Fleming, set in Scotland. Her stand-alone mysteries include Past Praying For, The Trumpet Shall Sound and Shades of Death. She lives in Edinburgh. She was brought into CrimeTimePreview HQ for questioning about her TV viewing habits…

• Award-winning crime author STEPHEN BOOTH has written 11 mysteries involving the detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry with a distinctive, sometimes menacing Peak District setting. He was a newspaper and magazine journalist for 25 years before publishing the first Cooper/Fry novel, Black Dog, in 2000. CrimeTimePreview quizzed him about his criminal viewing activities…